Auswanderer-Dampfer 1893

Editor: So, here we have "Auswanderer-Dampfer," or "Emigrant Steamer," created in 1893 by Fritz Stoltenberg, an ink drawing. I’m struck by how detailed and almost photographic it is for an ink drawing, capturing the sheer size of the ship against what appears to be a bustling cityscape. How would you interpret this work? Curator: I see this drawing primarily as a document of production and movement. Consider the date – 1893. This ship isn't just any ship; it’s an *Auswanderer-Dampfer*, a vessel specifically built to transport people. Who were these people? Where were they going? What kind of labor produced this vessel and supported its journeys? These are important questions about consumption, mobility, and material circumstances embedded in this image. Editor: That’s fascinating, the title suddenly brings in layers I hadn’t considered. So it's less about the aesthetic qualities, and more about the labor and lives connected to this…object? Curator: Exactly! The “Realism” of the style almost functions like reportage here. It's about the ship as a tool, a product of shipbuilding labor, and simultaneously, a means of transporting laborers – emigrants – often away from their own means of production. Where does the material reality of the ship intersect with these displaced lives? Think about the material traces left on the ship with each journey, or its role within the larger maritime economy. Editor: I see, the drawing prompts us to consider the socio-economic reality behind this rather ordinary scene of a ship in dock. It's powerful to think of the artist documenting the very beginning of someone's huge life change and linking it to manufacture and distribution. Curator: Indeed, it makes us consider the physical objects used in these moments. It brings questions of economic shifts to the surface and the materiality that affects these individuals. Editor: Thank you. It completely changes how I view the artwork when you examine it through the lens of material and labor!